31 May, 2012

The Birth of the Turtles (A story in praise of families, and how much we receive from them without realizing)

Tulika was really excited. They
had waited many days, but finally, that night, the baby turtles would hatch out
on the beach. And her Daddy was going to take her to see them!

So, Tulika and her father got up when it was still dark, took their torches,
and carefully made their way to the beach. Her father made her promise to
respect the baby turtles, not to make any noise, and to do what he told her.

Well, Tulika was willing to do
almost anything if it meant that she could go and see the turtles hatch. She
didn't really know what it would be like, but her older brother had told her
that the turtles are born on the beach just a few metres from the water's edge.
After hatching they quickly scuttle towards the sea. All that sounded very
exciting to her.

Crouching quietly, by the light
of only one of the torches on a low setting, Tulika and her Daddy waited. She
looked all over, hoping to see Mother Turtle, and she almost missed the appearance
of the first baby turtle.

It was so tiny!

It moved very clumsily, like most
babies; and without waiting for either its brothers or sisters or mother, it
started to scuttle towards the sea. Gradually, more and more baby turtles
appeared, and all ran towards the water. Tulika and her Daddy stayed hidden and
quiet, watching the wonderful spectacle of that crazy race to the sea.

But then something happened
which, to Tulika, seemed horrible. Some seagulls and other birds arrived, and
they started eating some of the little turtles. She kept looking everywhere to
see whether Daddy Turtle would turn up to give those birds a good hiding. But
he never came.

Tulika was watching all this with
tears in her eyes, and when the first group of baby turtles finally reached the
water and were safe from the birds, she gave out a little cry of happiness.

Even with the birds eating quite
a few little turtles, in the end many more reached the sea, and Tulika was very
pleased that they had managed to do so.

On their way home, her father,
who had noticed the tears in Tulika's eyes, explained to her that turtles were
born that way. Mother Turtle lays many eggs, hides them in the sand, and off
she goes. When the baby turtles hatch out, they have to try to reach the sea on
their own. That's why so many are born, because lots of them get eaten by other
animals, and not only on the sand, also in the water. He explained to her that
the few turtles who manage to become adults live for many, many years.

Tulika was really glad to have
learned so much about the turtles that night, but as they continued home all
she could think of was how happy she was to have a family; happy that her
parents and her brothers and sisters had helped her and cared for her so much
right from the day she was born.